Chancellor's Message to Law Center Alumni and Friends

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Law Center:

For those of you within Louisiana, I hope this message finds you and your family well following events of this week. It will be some time before our communities return to normal, but Louisianians are resilient. I have received numerous calls expressing concern for the Law Center, so I write to give you a brief report from the campus on how your Law Center is faring in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

A year ago,
LSU Law Center Chancellor Jack Weiss remarked to the gathered assembly
of students, dignitaries and community partners, "the Clinical Legal
Education program was only a gleam in the Law Center's collective eye."
On Friday, August 22, it became a reality as 26 student participants
were sworn in by Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Catherine "Kitty"
Kimball.

The Class of 2011 gathered together for the first time on Thursday at the Law Center, beginning two days of orientation. Students were welcomed by Chancellor Jack Weiss; Eric Eden, director of Admissions; Professor Ken Murchison, chair of the Faculty Committee on Admission; Michele Forbes, director of Student Affairs and Registrar; and Jeffrey Coreil, president of the Student Bar Association.

The LSU Law Center has announced a formal change in the name of the Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) degree, awarded to LSU Law graduates along with the Juris Doctor (J.D.) since 2001. The degree will now be awarded as the Juris Doctor (J.D.) Graduate Diploma in Civil Law (D.C.L.). The change will be effective with the graduating class in Spring 2009.

This fall's incoming class is not only a slightly larger group, but a more diverse one as well. The Class of 2011 numbers 211, up 10 students from last year. In addition, 16 percent of the class is either African American, Asian American, American Indian, or Hispanic/Latino—an increase of 6 percent from last year.

If you graduated from LSU Law in any one of these years, it's class reunion time! Just click here for more information about your reunion or to register for your class party. All classes, except 1978, will get together Sept. 26 – the Friday before Homecoming. The Class of 1978 will meet before the Georgia game, Friday, October 24. And don't forget to register for two hours of free CLE (Ethics and Professionalism) - a little Homecoming present from LSU Law to ALL alumni, regardless of graduation year.

Trial Ad Program Serves as Helpful Trial Run for Students

For three days, rising third-year law students found themselves and their classmates under the microscope, as they practiced their trial advocacy skills with the help of lawyers, judges, and law professors from around the country. By the end of the third day, not only had the near 200 students completed the LSU Law Center's Trial Ad Program, they also gained confidence in their own skills as future lawyers.

LSU Law students are seeking several volunteers to assist them as they develop their trial and appellate advocacy skills. If you're interested in judging a Moot Court or Mock Trial competition, contact faculty advisor, Professor Todd Bruno.

The following are dates for each of the events that will be held this fall:

The LSU Law Center's LL.M., or Master of Laws, program could be confused for a miniature United Nations. To say there is diversity among the eight students enrolled this year would be an understatement considering they come from Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uganda.

Professors from France, Italy and Germany will visit the LSU Law Center this fall to lend an international perspective to the students on topics ranging from World Trade Organization Law and Organization to the Regulation of State Subsidy in European Union Law.

LSU Law Professor Lucy McGough, Vinson & Elkins Professor of Law, was recently nominated by Sen. David Vitter as a 2008 Angel in Adoption for her advocacy of foster care and adoption. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, or CCAI, which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption program, will honor McGough, along with more than 180 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, Sept.16.

Father Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White and the Constitution, a play by law professor Paul R. Baier, will be reprised as part of the Law Center's Constitution Day celebration, Thursday, Sept. 25, at 12:40 p.m. in Room 110 of the Law Center.

Featured players are Judge Fredericka Wicker of the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and Harry S. Hardin III, from Jones Walker in New Orleans.

The performance is open to the LSU Community at large.

Law Center bids farewell to 'Bebo'

Comptroller William "Bebo" Wilkes recently accepted a job as vice president for finance and administration at Our Lady of the Lake College. Wilkes had been with the Law Center since 1980, and the LSU system since 1977.

"Working at the Law Center has been rewarding both professionally and personally," Wilkes said.

Chancellor's Council Roster is Now Hyperlinked to You

A hyperlink feature has recently been added to the Chancellor's Council roster on the Law Center website, connecting a member's listing to his/her profile on the Web. Click here to check your profile. If your name is not hyperlinked it means that we could not locate your profile. If you have a web profile and we don’t currently show your hyperlink, send the link to bobbi.zaunbrecher@law.lsu.edu.

This year’s Annual Fund drive, “Beat Bama,” kicked off in firms in July, with LSU Law team leaders recruiting their fellow alums to participate. Many firms have jumped into the game and have already scored 100 percent participation among their LSU Law grads, earning them the distinction of "Starting Line-Up".

"It is great that so many law firms have joined the alumni effort and are striving for a 100 percent participation rate from their LSU grads,” says this year’s Annual Fund Drive chairman, Mike Rubin ('75).

The Center of Continuing Professional Development at LSU Law Center
has a full calendar of opportunities scheduled between now and the end
of the calendar year in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe,
New Orleans and Kenner. Don’t get caught short in December. There are
four easy ways to register, including online at www.lsucle.org, where you’ll also find lots of information about our programs – many of which are planned in consultation with key LSU alumni.

There
will be a free continuing legal education program for LSU Law Alumni on
Friday, September 26, at 2:30 p.m. in the McKernan Auditorium. The
two-hour program will include one hour on "Ethics" and one hour on
"Professionalism."

The program is free to LSU Law Alumni as part of Homecoming weekend.
The fee for non-alumni is $45 per hour. To register online, click on
the "Register for CLE Program" link below.